Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 71,150 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 52.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,796 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 71,150 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $6,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Kirby by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 71,811 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,598,000 after buying an additional 23,118 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,149 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth about $517,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Kirby by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.75.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $100.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.15 and a 200-day moving average of $113.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $93.63 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.